Novel stem-loop probe DNA arrays: Detection of specific acetotrophic 16S ribosomal RNA signatures

In a recent study, we showed how novel stem-loop DNA probes on dendron-modified aldehyde substrates could be used to detect synthetic nucleic acid targets without amplification. In this article, we demonstrate the application of stem-loop DNA probes as arrays for the detection of specific families and genera of methane-producing bacteria from sludge samples harvested from an anaerobic digester using 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) signatures. Specific 16S rRNA could be detected in samples that had 0.2 ng/μl total sludge RNA without any target amplification.